Food In The Bag

Tea... and more tea... Yeah.. back at that place..

To start off my 4 day weekend relaxation... I had a rendezvous with something I had missed for a long long time...

The Spa....

This time around, I tried their Shangri-La Branch..

This particular branch opened a couple of months ago...

Quite different from the other The Spa I usually go to... (Eastwood - Click and Trinoma)

More often than not, they would have a theme going for their particular branches. This one didn't. I guess they were going for a minimalist setup.

The place is clean and sports a hotel vibe lobby.

This particular branch only had suites for rooms and a treatment room for facials and the like.

Since I only had a couple of free hours till my next appointment, I just went for a quick 1 hour deep tissue massage.

I was escorted to a suite.

I liked how the beds here are bigger than their normal ones.

Of course, they had the complete setup. Everything your would need.

I would have wanted one with a jacuzzi like tub but since all the suites were taken, I had to be contented with a steam shower room. I was given 30 minutes to use the facilities before the massage.

yeah super duper hottttt in here.

A selfie of my stressed out self first..

While I was boiling in the steam room, a cup of hot ginger tea and a glass of cold water were served.

The tea would be one that would forever remind me of The Spa. Spicy and sweet.

And off I go to dream land. My therapist Michelle made proper use of body mechanics and got me all soft up. Her touch was soft and deep. For an hour or so, I went Zzzz and got me all dreamy.

I looked like this after.

Happy and I love it.

I was able to see a different room with their Jacuzzi type bath tub.

Yeapsss! For love birds, friends and siblings, you could go for a couple's room and massage.

The service is top notch. The service and the facilities were pretty much what one would expect from The Spa. Budget would definitely take a hit but it is sooo worth it to go here.

The Spa

6th level East Wing of Shangri-La.

http://www.thespa.com.ph/

Near Serenitea.

Last call is around 2-3 hours prior to closing time

(02)656 7878

A happy tummy is a sure fire way into a man's heart... especially mine.

This restaurant seems to know where to start..

After my oh so relaxing massage in The Spa (click). I settled down in Kettle.

A carafe of lemon spiked water.. Something restaurants should always serve not just plain water!!

Starters smarters.. I went straight to pasta.

Truffle Gorgonzola (289Php)

The cheese and the truffle taste blended well.. If you're up for something like mac and cheese but wants a different pasta look. This fits the bill.

Creamy, cheesy and truflled!

For my mains, I had two... For man can't have one alone.

The Shrimp Po' Boy (419Php)

Soft Ciabatta Roll. Cajun Breaded Shrimps. Remoulade.

This lovely mess is a sure fire way into my heart...The pickles weren't overly powering. The shrimps were like breaded pork in taste but you will be glad to know that they are definitely fresh shrimps. Aren't dry and smooth not overcooked. The bread was fresh and really soft. Could make anyone a shrimp eater.

even The Pickiest Eater in the World!!

Another main I got was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken (519Php)

Honey glazed cornbread. Country gravy. Cajun Honey

At 519Php for an order, I was a bit disappointed when I saw that they served only 2 pieces of chicken.

One bite made me change my mind. The skin was crunchy and definitely flavored. The chicken meat was moist and wasn't dry. One bite = pure bliss. A bit sweet and spicy..Even had some leftover for breakfast the next day... Happy to report.. still yummy!

The corn bread, though was borderline moist outside but a bit dry inside. Could improve on this some more.

Would have wanted to drink a beer or two but since I was driving I had to stop myself from ordering a Corona or maybe a Stella. Liked that they served a lot of foreign beers and a wine list too booth.

The service was exceptional. My needs were taken cared off. My only gripe would be the flying insects. Good thing they offered some candles to shoo them away from my food. Budget around 600-800Php per person.

Kettle

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5th Floor

Shangrila Mall East Wing

(02) 654 7077

Disclaimer: I paid for my food and the opinions stated here are mine.

Menu:

After almost 2 years, I pushed myself to go back to Rockwell Powerplant...

I wouldn't have because of old, bad and painful memories (cry me a river why don't you Jeng!LOL!) or just because it was a bit far (and traffic is a nightmare) and I don't go to Makati just because... even if my work is farther away and even if I used to frequent this mall at least 3-4x a month before.

.....But since one of my friends was back in town and pregnant, I knew I had to go and see her and meet the lucky guy and their soon to be adorable son...even if I had to endure this..and some more stuff. LOL!

Almost nothing has changed... The Christmas decor already up.. Even the old piano was still in the middle of the basement and the (~~expensive)~~ fruit vendor still there. LOL!Kidding.

A few restaurants here and there were new. One that caught my eye was Hatch 22. Since we haven't tried it, we gave it a shot.

Almost 1 pm and we entered the place. It was busy and full of people. Would have wanted to have a seat on the couch but I guess a normal table would do.

While waiting for the others to arrive, we ordered on ahead.

For drinks, O got a grilled lemonade (110Php). How can one grill lemonade? We joked.

An interesting drink. The lemon slice was actually grilled. It has a burned citrusy flavor in it.

J had their Hatch Southern Sweet Tea (90Php)

Sweet and refreshing.

I, on the other hand, got their strawberry and mango bellini (260Php)

The drink had a small punch with the sweet flavor of the mango complementing it. The strawberry was but a hint. The only problem I had with it was that the quantity. I will be honest when I say 2 mouthfuls and its all gone. What's left are mango shavings. Not worth the price.

To start the meal, I chose to have bread basket 1 (270Php).

Composed of butter brioche, cheddar milk biscuits, cranberry and walnut, dark rye, Jalapeno and Cheddar bread. The finger looking bread would be the best. It has a cheese whiz like jalapeno and cheddar filling.

I would suggest that instead of ordering a basket, why not pick the bread individually. As they bake their own bread, you would be glad to note that they are pretty fresh and have a counter where you could look.

The basket was served with bacon jam and apple pie butter.

I don't know if my taste buds were wrong but the butter tasted normal and the jam was more like apple. Anyare?

I asked the server what can we order for pica pica. After looking for no longer existent appetizers. He suggested to have the sausage fest (485Php).

Instead of mash peas, we were served with mashed potatoes because of availability. The different sausages gave off flavors from light to heavy and char-grilled.Some were spicy while some were a bit bland.

We didn't really finish the platter because of the other stuff we got.

Kuya G had the Bacon Burger. (395Php)

Bacon GoodNESS!!!!

The problem with this would have to be that it was pretty hard to eat. It was either you hold everything and have one big bite. Or remove the top and try to cut it off. Pretty difficult to eat. Either way it is a yummy mess.

O got their Lemon Curd Chicken (480Php).

Soft and tender. A half chicken was served. The chicken meat was seasoned a little bit too much. According to O, it was overly flavored.

J wanted the cordon bleu but was informed that they had none left. So, she got the Croque Maserati (580Php). I liked how they served the dish with black caviar on top.

I am not sure though about the sous vide egg but the plate was overflowing with salmon chunks. I guess O made the best comment about the dish and I quote: "lasang isda". It was as if the sauce wasn't there. A little underwhelming and I guess it needs a bit more oomph to make an impression.

For dessert, we all agreed that this is the best dish we had for lunch.
The Jelly Doughnut (325Php)

The pancake was fluffy and soft. The syrup and the jelly used definitely helped in giving it the oomph. Totally different from the salmon, this dish was the rave of our little get together. We all agreed how we loved it.

As with any new restaurants, (Yes it is still under soft opening) there were kinks that I guess they need to fix. Like the service was a bit spotty at times. The servers didn't know that we were supposed to transfer to a different table and gave it to another group. We had to wait for an additional few more minutes. I had to follow up on a dish that were ordered way way ahead compared to the other tables that ordered and came later than us. On some times, they got it right and attended to our needs even if we didn't ask for it yet.

Price wise the place isn't the most affordable and value for money in my honest opinion. Although I would gladly pay for a great dish with the appropriate price tag, I definitely would say some of the dishes served weren't up to par in terms of quality and taste compared to other restaurants offering similar dishes. I hope they can improve on this as their concept of having all day breakfast that turns into a bar at night is definitely a welcome sight.

A few more things to note, the menu changed a few times. A few items that I wanted to try out were removed and a lot of items were not available. Example: some of the coffee we wanted to try out was not available. Also, originally they had other appetizers and 3 bread baskets rather than 2. Understandable since they are still in the soft opening phase. I think I can see myself going back after a few more months to see how they are going and if they improve.
Budget around 800Php per person for a hearthy meal.

Hatch 22
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Ground Floor

Rockwell Powerplant

Makati City

Yes I do look like a ball.. I don't know why.. maybe because of the lighting and the angle.. LOL!

It was exceptionally nice to see you guys again... It was a pleasure meeting sir O (not in pic-the one that took the pic) and of course the soon to be born baby Jeody!

Disclaimer: I paid for our food, the opinions stated here are mine alone and based on our experience.

"Dinuguan... something that is crispy and deadly... Yeah.. go for it... I want to try it out!"

Twas the conversation, I had with my relatives when we couldn't decide which Filipino restaurant we want to eat at. It has been a long long time since I ate at this particular restaurant. Since my relatives from out of town, are here for a short visit, I told myself what better time it is to try and check this out one more time.

(a lot of time why don't you LOL)

Kanin club has been one of the original restaurant still standing in UP Technohub. It has withstand the onslaught of changing times and also of mezza norte (when it was still there).

Kanin club..

Parking was a hassle. So when we got a seat, we ordered asap! As we were all hungry.. our heads started to go blank.

LOL!

For drinks, we had a lot to choose from their long list of the usual Filipino Favs..

My mom tried their sago at gulaman (95Php)

Sweet and ow soooo refreshing.

Tita had their green mango... (133Php).

It was really OMG!!! Just needs bagoong and you are good to go!

I, on the other hand, just got an ice tea (99Php-refillable)

Tita sort of becomes a vegetarian at night so she started things off with Ampalaya Salad (156Php)

Nope nope nope.. I stayed away from it! I am sorry but it was placed on the far end of the table for a reason! LOL!

Thankfully, there was ensaladang mangga (180Php).

At least this had bagoong on it. So it was pretty much okay to eat... Sour stuff!! I like!

Since, it was more of a veggie night out.. we also had lumpia (102Php)

It was huge! For the price it was worth it. The sauce was sweet and really helped the flavor.

Vegetable delight was well veggies. (274Php)

It was a bit too sweet for me or anyone in the table to enjoy. It was sort of veggie dessert.. Think veggies in sweet soup.

For the rest of us normal eating folks, we had some other stuff...

Of course, one can't go wrong with their sinigang rice (235Php).

Tastes like sinigang..duh. The tempura veggies aren't that crispy anymore so just skip them. Just get the rice!

We also tried their seafood kare-kare (313Php).

It was one huge platter of seafood that was topped with karekare sauce. I missed the old school one with oxtail and what not.

The binukadkad the pla pla or tilapia or fish (258PHP).

I was tuning this one out because.. well it was fish. LOL! Kidding aside, the meat was fresh and the outer layer was crunchy.

The main reasons why I liked Kanin club would be there cripsy dinuguan (274Php).

This dish was definitely the winner. Crunchy stuff with dinuguan as sauce. Think chicharon or crispy pork fat with blood as sauce. YUMMY!!!! I believe others have tried to copy this dish but failed! The original is better than other thing else..

TURON KC is the bomb. ENOUGH said ! (94PHP)

Think halo halo in your mouth. It was sweet but not overly so. LOL!

I love how it was inventive and yummy!

What a nice way to end a meal.

Service was all right. I guess you could budget around 300-400 per person. Definitely a nice place to spend a warm and comfort feel dinner with the family.

Kanin Club

Up Technohub

Near Q.C Circle.

Quezon City.

Disclaimer: I paid for the food and I wrote this post based on my opinions.

Since, my friends and I met up in Powerplant for a little late lunch reunion at Hatch 22 (click). We walked around the place and looked for some interesting stuff to get a bite off afterwards. Even if we were full, we still wanted to taste a bit of everything around and some dessert.

Thankfully it was the weekend and there was a fair at the basement and bronuts was there.

Honestly, I do not like going to Makati! Nuh uh!! Driving around and looking for parking! Traffic!! Argh!!

So lucky me when I found myself there on a Friday no traffic and easy parking. Chilling and hunging around with good old friends.

and

when some buzz is going on instagram and I find it worthy, I try to check it out and be a little adventurous.

Since I was already there, I took it upon myself and went for the Bronuts I was hearing about.

Cronuts shooomats! It has been the craze for the past few months! I have tried Wildflour's (click) and even Vikings' (yes they have it too..) and other places as well..

So what does Bronut offer compared to other of this places!?

One word: Creativity! (and fillings and flavors.. fine a lot of words!)

When I saw this pile upon pile of cronuts, I knew that they have a lot things to offer.

Price wise, they definitely sell affordable cronuts and the quality isn't sacrificed!

Here are some of the stuff that took my fancy!

No longer just for the sweet tooth, but they also serve some savory fillings for variety.

but off course we still need those sweet stuff!

Like this one.

and this

The belgian chocolate was definitely a winner! Yummy!!!

But my favorite would be the cream cheese and bacon!!

This reminds me of LES Bagels (click) and their cream cheeses! I so love the cream and the bacon! LOVE IT!

They actually offer a lot if you must know.

and has a sure fire way on how to enjoy the bronuts!

I suggest you follow it! I did! and I loved it!

Just be careful. They usually get sold out fast. So when going, past by their stall 1st before doing anything else. For a pack of 6, you pay 100Php for each one. Totally worth it!!

Bronuts.

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Baker's Dozen

Power Plant Mall

Makati city

Disclaimer: I paid for my box of cronuts and wrote this post based on my own opinion.

Restaurants left and right and I still can't decide where to eat at. Argh!

When I met up with 2 girls.. and I being the only guy.. the trouble of going around and knowing a thing or two about the food places in town would be that you will be the de facto person to ask where to eat. Argh.. in any case...I just chose the nearest (accessible) mall. And pop we got in to green pastures.

indoor garden...eeehhh

A few minutes of wait, and we got in...

So, one brunch time, I found myself picking up 2 girls. Yeah I roll like that. LOL! Kidding aside, I met up with good girl friends F and J. We really couldn't decide where to eat but since we were in the area, off we go to Shangrila and into green pastures.

caged lights..

I was pleasantly surprised with my past visit (click)..

It was a little different this time around..

but first... a little picture moment.

J the soon to be mommy, F the pretty surfer gal, and me.. the big guy

For drinks.. we had a couple of iced tea..

and yes we had the pinoy egg.

Thankfully, it was wetter this time around... and the longanisa breadings were good. The green underneath was fresh and lovely..

The duck you fries are still the bomb!

F, who doesn't eat duck, was surprised and destroy this dish!!! She loved it.

F wanted some soup and she had the chowder...

Sadly, the dish came out cold and its watery... we didn't like it. We returned it to the kitchen..

Another disappointment was the 70/30 or was it the 80/20.. burger... (oh how I hate math!) ..

J wanted to have a "light snack"

on a previous visit, it was the bomb... The texture was great. It wasn't overcooked.. but you know what happened? It was salty.. and when I mean salty.. its like you emptied an entire glass full of salt in it.

Yes that salty!!! Yeah.. left it...

F was originally looking for truffled white sauce pasta. Since, there wasn't any in the menu.. she went with the next best thing... pasta with a lotttt of shrooms.

It was spicy and has that wake up kick...

We liked that when we asked for some parmesan cheese, the server came on over and grated a fresh one on it...nice..

Of course... couldn't let the two gals eat here without having a taste of uni pasta...

uni with some crab meat.... loved it.

The service was great. Although there were boo boos in the food, I guess I can still go back and try other dishes instead. The serving size was a lot and the price was just okay. Budget around 500/person.

Uhm.. I thought it was "open wide" ... and not teeth together... F, J and me.

Green Pastures

East Wing Mall

Shangri-la Plaza

Mandaluyong City

Disclaimer: We paid for our meals. The opinions stated here are mine.

I want to write... I want to write so bad because I don't know how to express my feelings now that my grandfather has passed.

My lolo and lola

"Doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well"- St John Berchmans S.J.

It pains me to see that my lola is having a hard time letting him go... :(

Lolo Tatang, as I fondly called him, was a great man. He used to work for the government and was even sent overseas to study and learn new technology during his time.

He was a loving husband to Lola Ima. A caring father to his 5 wonderful kids.

A great grandpa to all of us grandkids.

Tita G, and mom would talk about 2 life changing events that lolo did to them.

The first one was when the two of them went on a drinking spree!

Picture this: Two hot girls, in the 70's, drinking and screaming the address of their house just because they might forget it! That is how grabe they were! Vomit here and there.. party girls.. tsktsktsk!

screen shot from family guy

... Lolo, along with my other titos, took care of them the night they came in. Even if they were covered with vomit and what not he helped them... Of course the next day he gave them a head to toe sermon and they went on an early morning road trip back to the province. Mom and tita never went drinking again thinking about the hungover and the gross stuff that happened.

from google.com

Another one was when mom and her cousin were caught smoking. (If you guys know me, I don't smoke! Never tried and never will so don't do it!). Rather than give them a spanking, he bought a caha and placed them in a room to smoke it. He taught them the lesson of never smoking. Now, mom always reminds us never to smoke and teaches us the hazard of it.

It may seem shallow, but lolo definitely was strict and loving. He never, not once, raised his hands against his kids and us grand kids. He always tried to teach through example and a proper talk.

He was a proper man. Not too vocal but definitely emotional and a deep thinker. He used to keep a journal and wrote everything in it. He was really sentimental because of all the pictures we found lying around in stacks of albums. We would scan over the notebooks and the albums and would get teary eyed but cover it up with a laugh.

My most fondest memory of him would be when he was taking care of my cousins and I. At times, I would stay at their place for an impromptu overnight session with my other cousins. We would try to sneak out and buy some ~~booze and~~ food stuff from the nearest convenience store.

from google.com

I remembered that he would stand by the gate and "guard it". He didn't allow us to go out just because he was thinking of our safety even if we were "grown teenagers" LOL.

It just goes to show that he cares for us so much that he doesn't "just let us go".

Worst.. or not really because its funny..., he was "chismoso" in a way. He would know about all the girls in our lives. I mean for my older cousin and I, he would always tell us... "always keep reserves.. never stick to one.." LOL! "collect and collect then select...".... Don't ask what happened with me.. I won't answer you with a straight face and yes, he knows all the girls that I dated.. from girl 1 to girl 2 to girl 3 and so on. LOL!.. what a funny lolo!

Of course all of this is just to make fun of us... believe me that I respect all the girls in my life! Never ever had I looked at another girl while I had a relationship... (just making sure things are straight...LOL..lagot ako...)
...

Sadly now, we are now the ones that must let him go. Still, he would always be in our hearts and minds. We would forever treasure the memories we had of him. I am forever grateful for the sacrifices he had to endure for our family.

Rest in peace lolo.

Anselmo Estacio - April 21, 1922 - December 12, 2013 🙏

Disclaimer: Some of the pics aren't mine. I got them off google.com and instagram and facebook

Please do not drink nor smoke. If you drink, do it moderately and don't drive. It is bad for your health.

I cried. The end.

Okay lets start from the start...

I was scanning the net and read about this amazing ramen place.

Sadly, its situated in HK and Japan and other countries so what the heck.. Don't really care... won't be going out of the country till next year..

.. Fast forward today...

Hello Nagi!!!!!! So I cared...

Amazingly to end the year, another ramen franchise entered the country.

Not just any normal ramen joint but an exceptional one. It was named Butao in HK, here its known as Nagi.

After doing some chores, I went on over to try them out in Sm Aura.

The place was lively and gives off a chill vibe. Just a place to go to after work for a steamy bowl of ramen.

Something to slurp the stress away.

I gladly sat down and went for what my tummy wants!

I had a beer for my drink and they served complimentary cold barley tea. Believe me that a cold one makes eating ramen sweeeet!

If you must know, they only serve 4 types of ramen. From this 4, you could definitely customize em up.

Couldn't decide which of the 4 ramens they serve.

SO i picked two..!!! It would be gluttony if I got all of them diba?

and

While waiting, I noticed the condiments on the side.

some Barikata (sprouts)!! Unlimited dear so get get get!!!

Tonkotsu or garlic cloves

which have an instrument to get the flavors mashed out..

After a few minutes the Black King arrived.

It was pipping hot!!! This is my type of ramen!

One slurp and tears came out of my eyes. I shit you not. It was that yummy and delightful. I never knew food could make me feel like that. The squid ink gave the flavor that definitely could not be tasted in the usual ramen. The pork belly was soft and luxurious. Damn diet and damn all the calories. This is worth it.

I also had an additional set of eggs.

Thankfully.. it was wet.. just as it should be.

After wiping my tears and slurping all the noodles I can, I asked for my 2nd bowl!

The green king.

It was oh so wrong but it came out right. Basil, olive oil and cheese in your ramen? Can it be?

Yes! Definitely! It reminded me of eating pasta dishes but wetter and with soup to slurp it all out! Grabe!!

I had a side order of seaweeds. Totally worth it!

Wouldn't you know, I also did something I haven't done before!

I went on over and tried a restaurant on their 1st day and even became their 1st customer. Checked it off my bucket list. LOL!

The food is definitely worth it! You would not regret going there and trying it out. The place is packed during peak hours, so go on over during off. Or be like me, time everything and go there on Sm Aura's opening. (10am for you folks LOL).

The service was excellent. Jm took care of my needs. Props to him!

I hope they continue to do their job and keep on giving ramen lovers their due.

Budget around 500 Php per person.

They plan to open a 2nd branch in SM MOA either by the end of the year or come January..

Nagi Ramen

5th Floor Sm Aura

BGC, Taguig,

Besides Yabu.

Disclaimer: I paid for my meals and I wrote this post based on my own opinion.

Off from a long flight, my tita and cousin (ate) had wanted to eat some hearty breakfast. Actually, they told me that they were full from the inflight meals. Yeah right guys!... You know and I know that you need food especially since it was that kind of day....

It was a difficult day for us. I came from an all nighter. They had to withstand a delayed flight from LA and a close family member recently passed away. Tita was here for a few weeks and went back to LA. Exactly, after a week, it happenned. Now, she is back with ate. Stress and jet lag....

I knew I had to let their tummy be happy because it was the only way I could make them smile.

It was pretty difficult to look for a great breakfast place at an early morning time. I mean, we already ate at Early Bird Breakfast Club (click) and even Recovery Food (click). They didn't like IHOP (click) because they read my blog.. with the spider incident and the taste.. , they were looking for something else.

Time for old school stuff then...

So, hello pancake house!

Pancake house has been open for the longest time. I would remember going to SM North Annex when I was a kid every week to eat at PH.

For a quick breakfast bite, it would be the defacto place to go to especially if you want some plain old filipino food.

When we arrived, the place was packed. There was only a table left. This was at 7:30 in the morning. Grabe!

Since we wanted to eat and fast, we ordered straight away.

I started off with some salad.

Not just any salad but the taco salad. The chippy bits and the dressing was amazing. This old school favorite of mine definitely hits the spot. Even if ate wasn't that hungry (she is a health buff), she got a few bites of this and enjoyed it. It was the secret vinaigrette that made it all work.

For the past few weeks, tita was having the munchies. I mean, she definitely wants to eat 3 old school pinoy fave at the same time. Of course, I gladly said yes and order them for her.

The first one was the longanisa. It was accompanied by a mixture of mangoes and tomatoes. Perfect combination.

Then the tocino.

It was sweet and soft to the bite. Grabe, I never knew tocino like this. YUMMY!

Of course, there must be tapa!

I was a bit disappointed with this because it was hard to eat. Taste wise, it was just okay.

Ate wanted to just have a simple snack.
She had the banana pancakes.

She liked it and devoured it. See how a healthy eater she is? She puts the butter on the side and puts minimal syrup. OMG!

For me, I had the old school favorite.

Can you guess what it is? Roast... Roast... chicken...

It's placed on top of bread and with a healthy serving of the gravy. Plus, it has a side of potato salad and fries. YUMMY! Really brings me back when I was a kid and would always steal this order from my dad.

Boom!

Tita said "you fulfilled my fantasy".... and with that it made my inner self smiled.
It was the least thing I could do for them. For us, for our aching hearts...
See how people who aren't hungry eat and leave their plates. LOL!

Pancake House

Bonifacio High Street

Besides Kabisera by Dencio

Near High Street Central.

BGC, Makati or is it Taguig City.

Disclaimer: I paid for our meals. I post this based on my opinions.

What is in a name? When one asks your name, people tend to associate it with different things in your life.

whats in the box?

When one says Paul, I now remember my over stretched tummy.

After eating at Nagi (click), I was so darn full that I went around Sm Aura to at least let the food go down my digestive tract. 2 bowls of gigantic ramen isn't for the feint hearted, moreso for the bulging stomach.

I really wasn't thinking of buying anything else, but I passed by this new bakery place.

The smell lured me in..

So fine... I ended up getting more food.... Soooo like me right? LOL.. Actually I just wanted to get something to go as a way of giving my lil big bro something to eat. (yeah right Jeng.. we all know Jeng is your lil big bro!) LOL

Once you see the restaurant, you get to see a lot of goodies. It sort of gives that all day breakfast flair and bakery. A counter for take outs a lot of seats for dinners. Something like Wildflour (click) but with better service and a more relaxed manner and chill pace where you could actually relax...

I honestly couldn't decide what to get. The prices were a little bit on the high end but I believe quality makes up for it.

They offer freshly baked breads and a loooooooot of other baked yummies! Better to go early in the morning so that you will know that they are freshly made.

I would have liked to try the huge macarons but 250Php a pop seems a little bit off.

So instead, i got these:

A loaf of pain muesli (530Php)

Believe me.. it is so worth it! Full of nuts and fruits!

So worth it that on the way home.. I couldn't stop myself popping a slice or two.. or more because of the traffic. The smell roamed inside my car that it made me salivate.. that I couldn't control myself...

Eating while driving.. definitely a must in the metro because of the traffic.

Another loaf... Pain Noix Moule (210 Php) or bread with walnuts..

For nut lovers, this is a steal.

Pardon my cute and chubby bread loving fingers..

Light, crunchy outside and soft inside. Love this with butter!

Remember how I said that I will be buying for my lil big bro... I actually did it. I am a good kuya btw...

I got him a ham and cheese sandwhich.

A little pricey at 195 Php. Its basically just ham and cheese.

So plain.. yet my brother enjoyed it. Maybe they could have placed in some veggies right??

Now on to the dessert...

A pair of eclairs.

I liked .... the eclair cafe nature (150Php)

this loooooong semi-hard yet soft and gooey and coffee like taste in my mouth.

See the fillings... it made me ooooooh and ahhhh... Not too sweet just right..

that I had to bite it at both ends just to savor it a little longer...

I skipped the other one (tartelette fraises.. the one with the strawberries 210PHP)... because this was all my mouth wanted... too bad I only got a piece..

Of course, when you go to Paul... this other chochaletyy piece of art would really entice you to give up your diet...

tartelette chocolat (210PHP)

See how goeeeey it was... I can't stop saying gooeeey because it wasss!! OMG!!!

It wasn't too sweet but you could really taste the chocolate. It was as if you were drinking it.

Definitely a must try at paul.

I figured that Paul is a welcome sight in the metro. Definitely a go to place if you want high quality baked goodies and not being stressed to go and hurry yourself....

Paul

Ground floor

Sm Aura

Another branch would open up at Bench Tower in BGC.

Talk about location. I wished they could have opened one up north.

but thanks to Bench for bringing Paul in town.. now if only Kayser would open up already !!!

Disclaimer: I paid for the food, I made this post based on my opinions.

On a lazy weekend, dad is out playing golf and my brother and mother free. So I asked if they wanted to eat out since it was my treat.. They gladly said yes. Dad, being the picky with what he eats.. freaking health buff, wasn't with us, we had the chance to try something lovely for the stomach of a foodie.LOL.

and off we go to

Who would have thought, I haven't been to one of Serendra's awesome restaurant. Mamou.

Mamou is also behind recovery food (click) and is just beside saboten (click) in case you get lost...

The place is quite lovely if you ask me. It isn't that big. Homey and exudes a chill yet elegant factor. The decor is definitely right for a dinner date with the SO or something like a brunch with the family.

Once we were seated, complimentary bread were served.

Thank God they were warm and soft and not rock hard.

The menu is quite straight forward and simple. Everything a guy would want is there.

Drink choices were somewhat complete and not the ordinary. Thank you creativity.

Our drinks consisted of:

Dalandan Mint Shake (175Php)

The dalandan was definitely there and the mint flavor didn't overpower it. It was a perfect blend. Loved it!

My brother had their watermelon fruit slush (140Php).

Thankfully, it wasn't watered down and it was fresh.

I, on the other hand, tried their grapefruit spritzer (95Php)

I soooo love the sour flavor of the grapefruit.

Enough of the drinks on to the food.

Ever since the holidays kicked in, I have been eating oily food left and right and I guess I try to eat some veggies every time I have a meal out so we started on their best seller.

We chose to try out their Healdsburg's Harvest (325Php)

A joy to eat. The greens were fresh. There were pecans and dried cranberries that complimented the berry vinaigrette. I couldn't get enough of the cranberry stilton cheese too. See the black speck on the left of the picture? That's dried cranberry and not pepper.. whew! Love it!

Almost like Cyma's (click) roca salata without the nuts and sun dried tomatoes , it was still light and hits my spot letting you want more.

Mom was a little healthy so she tried their baked white fish (295Php).

Straight forward. A little olive oil, some capers and salt and pepper and its good to go. It was soft and light. Salty but in a right kind of way.

Mom picked some mashed potato for sidings rather than the usual rice.

I heard a lot about their Lorenzo's truffle cream (375Php), so I got it also.

It was simple. I mean cream and pasta how could it not be awesome.

No meat no shrooms just properly cooked pasta and creamy sauce. The truffle flavor was present in the right amount..Not too much... The grana padano cheese completes it. WINNER!

But wait... see that in the background? That made my mouth speak in tongues...salivating for more...

This my friend is the star of our lunch. The RB Foie Gras Open Faced Sandwich (995PHP).

It is prime rib with foie gras on top with gravy everywhere on perfectly toasted bread. This is a dish that definitely is simple but superb. The foie gras was cooked perfectly. It was buttery, soft and definitely luxurious. Go to hell calories and cholesterol. This is LOVE! The prime rib was tender and the bread didn't go soggy. This was the star of the meal.

Trying to properly prolong the sandwich, try to make it last longer by making it into finger food (LOL!).

It came with the perfect side dish of fries.

The meal was definitely a surprise. With simple offerings, they definitely made things perfect. The kitchen knew what they were doing. The wait staff had great inputs on what to order. Definitely a must to listen to them. The price, although a little high, was justified. Would go back after the holidays just so I could digest the foie gras properly and get myself checked out first. LOL!

WINNER lunch!

Mamou

Serendra ground floor just beside saboten

BGC, Taguig

Paid for our meals, wrote this post based on my own opinions.

"We want wings! We want wings!!! Oily and calorific filled goodies!"

and with those simple words... we ended up eating here....

I haven't really tried this place.. as our usual go to wing place is Hooters (dad's fav). Since my cousins wanted some..on the night of Christmas day... eh di ibigay ang gusto. Hahaha!

Located in Newport, it is nestled along with different restaurants. It is in a small strip of restos in an area called Butterfly Garden, Newport. It is definitely worth the time to go back and checkout or just chill at the different food establishments there.

Once we got to the place, we were seated inside. Not really that big of a place. The menu was handed to us. It was extensive for a wing place. It had burgers, a lot of wings, and a lot more. And yes..wings are their specialty.

We started off with nibbles.

Fries at 130php.

They were cooked right and were gone in seconds.. Okay fine a couple minutes.

We also had some onion rings (130PHP)

Huge crunchy and onions... can't get better than this.

We went there for the wings. We got 2-one dozen wings but we opted to split them into 4 different flavors. But first, we needed to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Plastic gloves for when we want to use our hands.

The first dozen had lemon pepper (bottom) and hickory (top).

The hickory bbq flavored was sweet, rich and smokey. It reminded me of baby back ribs. Finger licking time for this. Awesome!

The lemon pepper was citrusy and was kind of a dry rub. It was crunchy but the flavor was a little more wanting.

Next up...

This one had garlic parmesan (top) and their classic buffalo-medium spice (bottom)

The garlic parmesan tasted a little bland for me but I guess its all right. I sensed potential in it.

The classic buffalo was the awesome winner of the night. With choices of heat level, we being sore losers chose the lowest level-medium. It was spiced just right and tasted awesome. Phenomenal! I would definitely go back there for these babies. Crunchy and oily...and tasty.. RICE PLEASE!

BTW... this is my cousin ATE J and she's from out of town.. and

Here is how she wing it.

STEP 1: Use your hands..Take a bite.

STEP 2: Be surprised with the flavor.

STEP 3: Let the flavor swirl in your mouth. Use your tongue!

STEP 4: Take another big bite

STEP 5: Think if you will lick the bone dry

STEP 6: Yeah definitely slurp it down to the bones.

Definitely a cool hung out place. I believe they serve different beers and other "bar chow" that could rock your night. The service was fast and decent. If you are looking for a chill place would definitely suggest this one. Not too crowded and with awesome wings. Budget around 300-400 per person for a heavy meal!

and off we go to Tagaytay and yes we reached Batangas just for a joy ride that night.. who would have thought everyone had the same idea and all the restos, Starbucks (click) (line all the way to the outside... no way..) and establishments there were full! Hahaha! Ow well.. next time.. next time.

Wingman

Butterfly Garden in Newport

Pasay City.

Facebook

Disclaimer: We paid for our meals. I wrote this based on my experiences.

part of their menu:

My dad and mom wanted some fish so of we go to this restaurant.

I don't know if it is just me but I used to like Fish and Co. a lot. Their take on how fish and chips is a lovely treat.

We were able to get a table during lunchtime. The place was busy with only 4 tables unoccupied.

I got their raspberry sunrise (165php) just to have something cold.

I wanted something hot to warm my tummy... (cold then hot? I am sooo weird...)

Their clam chowder (165Php).

The only thing that came hot.

Maybe it was that there was a lot of people eating at their resto or its just that kind of day but almost everything was off after the soup ... :(

Their ceasar salad (295Php).

I am definitely saying this.. but the dressing was something out of a bottle and the croutons were soggy.. it is as if it was left on the counter. X

Dad had the normal fish...with rice (280Php)..

Didn't look that appetizing so... barely touched..

Of course the fish came with the dip..

and you know what happened next? we waited almost 20 minutes for the other food to arrive. OMG right?

Even the table that came before us also didn't get their food... OMG!!! They were really complaining...

and sadly so did we... :(

There .. mom's New York fish (295php) came...

It was as if... I don't know.. road kill? Didn't enjoy it..

After another 10 minutes of waiting finally this arrived.

The grilled pork belly (425Php) was okay in terms of taste. It was a little hard to chew though and it wasn't worth it.

We came with hungry tummies and left with the same... Seriously, we passed by a different resto just to get our fill. The service was awful... we had to ask different waiters to follow up on our meals.. plus the time it took was definitely unbearable.. and definitely not worth it. I hope they fix their system and upgrade their stuff because I remembered how I enjoyed their food.

Fish and Co.

Trinoma Cinema Level

Quezon City

Disclaimer: I really didn't want to say these things but I guess I need to be frank and can't just sugar coat it.

So definitely I wrote this post based on my own experience. I wasn't asked to do this or what not.

During my final year in college.. back when BGC was still new.. and the Fort was the place to be..

my friends and I went on over during a school night to eat and relax from all the taxing thesis and completions and what not..

Fast forward to today.. and I see the restaurant we ate at expanded and made its presence felt in one of my favorite malls in the metro..

Hello Texas Roadhouse Grill

After a relaxing spa session with the family at The Spa.. we were quite hungry... I mean it was already past 2pm and we still didn't have lunch.

But boy.. the spa session was definitely worth it!! As in!

We went on over a few stores away and saw this grill place.
It was surprisingly full. There were a lot of people still eating and that they expanded and had tables outside the store. So I'm thinking they maybe good..

We got a booth inside and it had this whole cowboy theme going.

For me the place exudes a Chili vibe and fill almost same menu...but I guess the execution would be the key. LOL!

We were given a plateful of complimentary dried peanuts

We actually have a whole bag of these at home so.. yehey more nuts!

I tried out their strawberry daiquiri (120PHP).

I got to say that they used some artificial (powder) flavoring in it. It was hard to really taste the strawberries but i guess for the price... it was okay.

The service was somewhat fast and off we got our food pretty quick...

The seafood basket (395php) was basically breaded seafood (duh!) with some fries.

I liked the way it was fried and all with the shrimps and calamares and fish but it all tasted the same. Oily and deep fried.. hahaha!

My mom wanted some pasta so she got the seafood marinara (350Php)

The taste was wanting.. It was a bit bland to the point that it was as if there were only noodles there. They said it was supposed to be spicy.. well it wasn't :(

We also had the Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillet (350PHP). Just in case we wouldn't like the stuff we got.

The fish fillet was :(. I mean if it was parmesan crusted, the cheese flavor wasn't there. I don't know if they used old oil but it seems all of their deep fried food that we got.. had the same taste.

My dad was going for a steak so he got the great rib eye (1,395Php)

It wasn't that great. It was a little bit so-so. Yes it was soft but it seemed that they cooked it pan fried style. I could taste the oil coming from the one they used for the deep fried stuff. The flavor was ruined. I tried to mask it with some steak sauce but it just wouldn't work. I hope they improve on this. The quality of the steak was great since it was really soft but the cooking process i guess needs to be tweaked on.

and something I didn't like was that my salad.. which I believe is supposed to be served early on.. was the last one to get to our table.. weird right?

This was their best seller in terms of something healthy.. Southwestern Cobb Salad (290/430Php). It had everything oily from bacon to breaded chicken and everything else. LOL! If you would like to mask a healthy salad with extreme deadly add-ons. This would be your go to. I liked the greens as they were fresh. I just moved the bacon and the different deep fried on the other end.. Trying to go healthy ... hahahaha damn new year.

The service and the staff were extremely pleasant. I just had a hard time eating because I guess the flavor should be improve. Budget around 500-600 / person.

Texas Roadhouse Grill

6th floor East Wing Shangrila

Near the Cinema

Disclaimer: I paid for our food. I wrote this post based on my experience.

I wasn't asked to make a post on this..

One Saturday night while sleeping a dear old friend called me up.

She: "Kain tayo"

Me: "Give me 30 minutes and I'm there."

and with that an adventure ensued...

and we ended up here..

Because of traffic ... it took me an hour to get to her in Shang.. and another 30 minutes to get to our destination.

BGC.

Since we couldn't decide... we ended up in a sea of red chairs and different words painted on the wall..

Time for our pre-game dinner. LOL!

Don't know what to eat? This could be a nice way to start a long night. It was a quick fix and is definitely a welcome in my tummy without breaking the bank..

This kind of food really hits the spot every time..\

but first... time to up it up.... A notch.
I asked for garlic ox brain (99php).

It doesn't really look like a brain.. so it must not have tasted like one right? LOL!

It was mushy and for me.. a little bit too garlicky to the point that it surpassed salpicao flavor...
and you know what... I was surprised that night..

>>>>>>My friend F doesn't eat animal organs.. like isaw, and the like..so this is definitely a first for her.<<<<<<<

Take note of her before and after look...

Priceless..

Anyway.. on to the meal itself..

She had the lamb shawarma (139php)

It was a little gamey for her.. but she did finish it.

While I had the Sisig Shawarma (109Php)

It was definitely a delight to eat this oily, crunchy and yummy wrap!

Sarap... extra rice please! I mean one more!

I also had a side of fries (80php)

Skip this... not worth it.
I was happy to see that they didn't skimp on the sauces. I mean the yogurt based sauce is definitely thick and not watered down.

On the other hand, the hot sauce was definitely not your ordinary stuff. It was damn hot. One drop and it did
a dance number in my mouth!!!

One thing that I didn't like was the order of Melon Mojito (250Php)

It came to us as some sort of dessert. We were almost past 3/4 of our meal and it was served.... also the taste was definitely not for parties but rather for cleaning stuff.. It was that bad that one sip and I didn't take another one.

Anyway since the night was young (like 9pm), F and I went to 2 other bars before ending the night...
and yes we finished our round-about with having Sisig Shawarma as our papa tanggal amats food.

Yes it was that good that we went back to get another a set.

At 3 in the morning, it was definitely yum yum yum!

to know what happened next and how wild the night was in between our shawarma run...
well wait for my next post! LOL!

Shawarma Guys

Facebook

The Fort Strip
Taguig

They have this cool concept of a curbside delivery. Just call and pick it up infront of NBC tent. No more need to go in the parking area and waste time, gas, effort and parking fee.

Disclaimer: We paid for our meal. I wrote this based on my experience.

After our quickie in Shawarma Guys (click) , my friend F and I went around and had one or 2 "nightcaps".

The night was young... and of course... we needed to bond some more... so...

First up... URBN

Granted it was from the same owners of Shawarma Guys and its a stone throws away... it was a no brainer.

We needed some awesome drinks and I knew this was one of the exact places to go to.

Thankfully, it was a little past 9 when we got there. So, we still had time to just relax and not stay there for when the music/smoke starts.

Started the night with these amazing drinks!!!! and I mean DRINKS.

I got the Amaretto Sour (258Php).

It was definitely the most awesome amaretto sour I had tasted. DAMN! It was so good! It tasted like those

sour gummy worms. I kid you not! Definitely! It was as if they turned it into liquid form. You couldn't taste the alcohol in it.. I sense a traitor drink!!!

F had a Lychee Mojito (258Php).

The drink definitely used real lychees. You could taste the sweet flavor from the fruit. The alcohol didn't overpower the drink. YUMMMY oh!!!

Since I know what to order and I knew it would take time, so we had the chips to start.

The home made potato chips (250Php) was served with aioli and pesto dip.

Not too oily and is insanely addictive.

See? She's into the chips!LOL! She will kill me once she sees this shot bwhahaha!!! Back at you F!

After a few more minutes, the manchego souffle (395Php) was brought to our table.

It was soft and definitely cheesy. The crispy jamon serrano went well with the flufflyness of the souffle.

Of course you can't go to URBN without their famous laveah cake (250Php) which came in next!

This time around, we tried their dark chocolate version

Not too sweet. Liquid center. Crunchy outside. Perfect matching with the sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.

and yes there is a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

At past 10pm, we left the place as it was turning into a bar.

I think I am getting old and starting to wean away from clubs and just go out for the food, the company and the bonding. So, there we left the place and on to another one...

One thing led to another and we went on over to Skinny Mike's (click).

Believe it or not, we walked... I know the distance was only a few blocks.. but I love driving my car... since F wanted to walk.. fine... for once I did... LOL! Knowing that I parked the car a few blocks away and I knew that I might get wasted and have a hard time to go back there... LOL!

When we arrived, the place was packed. Defnintely! We only got seats in the 3rd floor. The place was rocking. They had a band sing out old school rock songs... Awesome!

Here, we continued with our bonding and drinking..

F got Sweet victory (250Php)

Made with Absolute Citron, Cointreau, mango puree, simple syrup. Sweet and simple.

And since I was addicted with Amaretto Sour, I ordered one and got a Tanduay Ice too.

and man can't live on drinks alone...

So I tried their poutine.

Cheesy and gravylicious. Damn nice drinking partner while watching the night away.

Since it was getting real damn loud we opted to seat outside.

and we had this lovely view.. damn! Chill!

And yes.. we also had shots. Tequila!!!... it lined all the way to my stomach..

It was really that long.. since I last went out and had a drink or two...

After a bucket of Tanduay Ice, we called it a night.. well.. it was morning.. so it was fine..

But just before going home, we needed to take the tipsy off... so...

The night ended with another round of sisig shawarma and it was awesome... and yes we did walk all the way back to the fort strip from Skinny Mike's. Ang layo ah!!!

Definitely a night to remember... a great way to start my birthday week. LOL!

URBN

Fort Strip

Skinny Mike's

24/7

Near SNR

BGC

Disclaimer: paid for our meals and wrote this post based on my own experience and opinion.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Right? So would it be wrong if I wanted to go all the way to Tagaytay just to indulge myself...for the nth time. LOL!

So... Continuing with my birthday week, my workmates and I went on a road trip. Just because.

and when one is at Tagaytay, one knows where to get breakfast.

Only at Breakfast at Antonio's.

Upon arriving at around 8am on a Saturday, Breakfast at Antonio's (click) was packed. The lot outside was filled with cars and to think it was only open for an hour. The best seats of the house, along the ridge, was full and my friends and I just took a table on the side.

While we were waiting for our table to be prepped, I had the time to nose around and have a looksie at their bake shop.

Filled with goodies! I want that and that and that!!

Tip: get a loaf of their turkish bread and make your own french toast at home.. = love!

The place looks exactly the way it was from a year ago and from my last visit a couple of months back.
Definitely simple, open and refreshing interiors. What is awesomer is that the open area at the back is now available for smokers and for selfie takers

Freaking freezing.. bring a jacket and don't wear a skirt or else it will be blown away!

Anyway, once we were seated, we ordered straight away. I realized that they changed and updated their menu. Gone are the huge one pager and now it seems they, along with other restos in the metro, are going for the clipboard type menu. What's great is that they now offer a lot more choices to choose from. Of course, I still went with my favorites. LOL!

I had the unlimited brewed coffee (180Php).

Awesome as it was served with muscovado, white sugar and fresh made cream and yes I asked for splenda.. (stevia would have been better). I think I was able to drink 4 cups of these as it was freaking cold! Sulit if you drink coffee like a black hole (DING DING = me!!!) but a little overpriced if just for one cup.. great thing they now have a lot of different coffees types to offer.

Most of my friends had the hot chocolate (130Php)

Great for the cold weather...not too sweet and surprisingly awesome!

While the other one had a Jade Ice Tea (TWG) (120Php)

Don't know why but with it being cold... she still ordered this LOL! Ang lamig na nga te eh.. LOL!

No matter, on to the food!!!!

Let's go around the table why don't we.

A new addition to their menu is the croque madame (380Php)

Sorry Cx2 I know I promised to share the food with you as in half! Half half na tayo! Promise next time! Last na to!!

Ham, swiss cheese and bechamel sauce.. yes eggs on top!!! According to Cx2, it was actually too big for her. LOL! My fault.. my bad... Simple and hits the spot.

2 got omelettes. The first one was bacon, mushroom and cheese (400Php)

Served with perfectly made hashbrowns. Not overcooked and is something for egg lovers!

The other was bacon and cheese. (375Php)

Melted and goeey cheese spurring out the center.

The rest had roestis.

Roesti Bacon (320Php)

Bacon is cruncy and totally YUMMY! They didn't scrimp on the ingredients. Quality and quantity = happy tummy!

and of course I had the Roesti Ham (370Php).

Ever so perfect. Simple. Ham and cheese and egg on top of roesti. I missed the panini they served with this. This time around, they only had a slice of toasted bread to go with it.

and yeah.. I still got an order of french toast (295Php)

See how thick it was? It wasn't hard nor was it over cooked. Fluffly and ow so yummy. Had cinnamon flavoring and the sides definitely complimented it.

Adding the syrup was definitely the highlight to the meal. Rich but not too sweet and ow so lovely!!!

Definitely nice to experience the lovely weather and the cool breeze that came with it. From my car, it showed 20-22 Celsius. Meaning to say, it must have been a few degrees lower when it came to the cold air blowing right to our face. Grabe!

Fine.. my head looks like a bowling bowl... taking one for the team.

What's next? Well stopped on over to bag of beans for a little take out and even to the original buko pie place.. LOL epic way to start the day...

as requested here are some other pics...pardon the captions..LOL! Indulge me since it was my Birthday Week after all.

ang babaeng mahilig mag picture... kahit nililipad na ang damit.

The other lover...

Sana nag jump shot..

The table after the storm.

shot on the steps...

and another one... at B of B near Tagaytay Rotonda...

and then... off to another lunch with another friend.. LOL

wait for it on Friday.

Breakfast at Antonio's

Website

Tagaytay Ridge

Disclaimer: Paid for our food; opinions are mine and mine alone.

I know of another epic way of ending my birthday week, it was to try and go to as many restaurants as you can in a day. LOL!

Exactly what I did!

So, my workmates and I were able to go to 3 places in Tagaytay and all this before lunch. From Breakfast at Antonio's to Bag of Beans to Original Buko Pie (click).

So come lunch time (still full from breakfast), I had the opportunity to try this resto bar.

Hi OTKB!!

As if going to Tagaytay early in the morning wasn't enough, I had a lunch meet up with another blogger friend. Since she was free and was in the vicinity of BGC and so was I, I agreed on the lunch out! So on the way back from Tagaytay, we met up and went on over to High Street to try out the new restaurants from the makers of The Goose Station (click).

Hello Michy!!! See her in her blog I am dekaphobic. Time for some catching up...

Thought bubble: ... food food food... ~~diet..~~ Yep she lost weight.. kailan kaya mangyayari sa akin un?

Once we got in a little past 1pm, we were greeted by their bar. If only I had one like this at home...

I think I only have 1/4th the size...

Of course it tempted me to try one of their cocktails because it was soo hot outside..complete turn around from Tagaytay!!

So I got an Amaretto sour (250Php). Good enough but URBN's better (click).

Michy had their sugar free iced tea (120Php).. refillable

All right drink...not overly sweet. Brewed Tea.

And now on to the meal...

Started with the Bacon Fat Frites (235Php)

Bacon Fondue, Parmesan and Black Olives. The sauce was parmesan based with a hint of bacon ... and not the usual made from mayo. Reminds me of Duck You from Green Pastures (click and click). Would have wanted and loved cherry vinegar as a dip for the frites.

From their artisan pizza menu, we picked the Honey, Truffle Oil and Egg (420Php)

Parmesan Mornay, Herb Bouquet, Confit of Black Olives.

A little bland for me. I couldn't quite taste the flavors. Yes the pizza crust was cooked perfectly. Not too thick and a little crunchy. I hope they could improve on the taste though because it was really bland. I only tasted the truffle as somewhat of an after taste. Olive taste wasn't there. I know I can see it but..I couldn't taste it..

Next up was the Sopranos Sunday Gravy (430Php)

Spag and meatballs; Ox Tail and Tripe; Bone Marrow and Chicken Liver. A little too different for me. The meatballs were moist and well cooked while the pasta was al dente. A-OK.

What made my day was the Crispy Pork Belly (550Php)!!

Apple and Raisin Glaze, Liver Parfait and Poached Apples, Mountain Rice.
Almost perfectly cooked.

The meat was soft and it melts in my mouth. The glaze was lovely and gave the touch of something sweet to this deep fried goodness. What I didn't like was the skin. It wasn't crunchy. It was makunat. I hope next time the skin gets a little more fried to get its texture right! But still.. YUMMY!

I liked the chill setting the place has. Great for a night out after work. The place even has a small private room good for 10-15 persons which I believe could be rented out.

Art pieces were lined up around and yes they were visually stimulating to the eyes. LOL! Feeling artsy LOL!

Service was okay, no problems with that. I think they were a little bit overwhelmed when the place gets packed. Once our tables were prepared, I was quite surprised to see a baby chair for our table...(may anak na ba kami?) LOL! Other than that.. all good... Budget around 800Php per person.

A great way to end my birthday week. Yahooo... actually, I wanted to go out on a movie date or something like that... but I guess I am super duper duper tired from all the road trip and driving and eating I did around... Yes my tummy can only take so much and the traffic would make my feet hurt......and fine na hiya ako mag yaya... (shy much LOL!!!)

From eating in Mamou's (yes we returned after a week to get the steaks) and getting breakfast with the cousin in Early Bird last week.. to all of what has happened the past year..concerts, events, and out of towns, I am thankful for all the blessings that God gave me, my friends and my family.

From the new friends to the new work and even to the experiences I had encountered.

Definitely awesome!!!

Cheers! Here's to another great year!!! YAHOO!

Just don't ask my age! I will deny it to death but... I can tell you I am still under 3-0! bwhahaha! yeah men!

Olive Tree Kitchen & Bar

Facebook

Bonifacio High Street

Near Friday's

Taguig

It was great catching up with this blogger girl. Look at how she works...

Siya na siya na!!! It was awesome catching up with you!

Views and opinions here are mine alone. Paid for our meals.

"shine bright like a diamond... "

and that is how my head imagined things when I entered this Katsu place in Shangrila...

The interiors exudes a feudal Japan feel. Lots of lantern like lighting and also a nicely decorated wall art.

A chill setting with a little dark ambiance.

A week or so ago, I found myself going out on a date... and not just any ordinary date.. Its a date with my dad. OMG! ... Ewwwwww<< would be an understatement. Anyway... fine... I asked him, what he wanted to eat and when he said rice and Japanese food, we found ourselves infront of the newly opened Kimukatsu in Shangrila Mall a little past 1.

The place was packed with only 2 tables free... quite the impression since it was a weekday and there were a lot of dinners still coming in. So, what's different in Kimukatsu compared to Ginza Bairin (click), Saboten (click), and Yabu (click) ?

The menu they serve offer different flavors of katsu. They all varies in type of meat they use and also the flavors they incorporate with the meal.

After ordering, the service was really quick and straight up.

Drinks and appetizers served within a few minutes.

I had their complimentary hot tea..

My tea along with the sauces for the shredded cabbage and some katsu sauce and ponzu sauce.

while dad ordered buko (80Php). Yes.. Buko in a Japanese Restaurant...Cool...

Back when dad was in a different office in Manila, he would always have buko in the morning... -from one of his old school stories...

For starters, dad had the potato salad (130Php).. his forever favorite...

and I tried out the Ebi Mayo (210Php)

The ebi mayo is a little sweet and as anyone would expect would be a great pulutan or beer partner.. only problem I had was that the serving size is good for 1/2 of me. LOL.. it was that good that bitin kami!

A bowl of shredded cabbage arrived (unlimited with ordering sets..)

Just like in any of the Katsu restos around, you can pick any of the sauces to make a mean cabbage salad...

Miso soup was also served... It was either a choice of red or white variant.

This is the one of 2 katsu places in the metro that I know of that offers different kinds of miso soup. The other one ... is in GH.

And yes sesame seeds were given to us to mush and swirl while waiting... for the main courses.

I liked the smell of freshly grind sesame seeds

Another unique approach of this resto is to have 3 different dippers for the sauces. Most restos would have one or two...

One for their sea salt, another for the katsu sauce (thick and flavorful... put some sesame seed on top) and the last one is the ponzu sauce.

Pickled veggies were also served...

Didn't like it so I stayed away from it... veggies.. arghhh

What made our experience wonderful was the rice.

Yes you read that right!

The rice was served in Japanese rice tubs or ohitsu. Usually, these are used to serve rice at a normal Japanese table during meals or used to prepare rice for sushi making.

The rice they served was cooked perfectly. Too perfect if I might say that dad and I finished this down to the last piece.. and yes it is refillable. When we asked the server about it, we were informed that they cook their rice in a different manner. That they only cook it upon order and that a special technique and equipment is used.. YAY! YUMMY!.. rice + sesame seeds on top = heaven!

But wait...I am sooo getting ahead of the meal...

Before our katsu arrived, my order of kimukatsu cheese sandwich (230Php) got to our table.

It was a dream snack. A little expensive but worth it. Think katsu with cheese and soft white bread to partner with its sweet sauce. and yes.. I have a big mouth so I can do this in ONE BIG BITE! LOL!

Just as I was enjoying this little snack... our katsu arrived. The flavored Kimukatsu set (3 flavors 1200Php)

includes 2 rice sets (unlimited: miso soup, cabbage, veggies, rice).

Up first is their kurobuta.

It was juicy, soft and definitely okay but I guess Yabu's version is better and more intense...

Next stop is Ume Shiso. Made with Japesese sour plum and shiso leaves.

The flavor of the sour plum and the leaves definitely brings out a different take on the katsu.

My favorite variant for this meal would have to be the cheese.

The cheese was gooey and ow so good. It melts in your mouth!

Properly seasoned and lovely choice of cheese, every bite gives me that rush of eating it and getting more rice..!!! OMG!

I must say, I heard conflicting reviews about this place. From what I gathered, they are still in their soft opening phase since they only opened in December 2013. My experience though was quite positive. I enjoyed the food and the service. The pricing is quite competitive and what is great is that you get to taste different flavors of katsu and share it with others. Furthermore, their concept of set meals for the number of dinners definitely help the customer pick this resto from the others... In any case, would be going back with my friends some other time. Budget around 500-600 per person.

and of course... some macarons for dessert :D

Kimukatsu

East Wing Shangrila Mall

Paid for our meals, opinions stated here are mine.

"Uiiiii si Eric..... "

and the teasing....

and the drooling....

arghhh....

and that started my (secret) love ... with him...

Eric Kayser has been one of the most awaited bakery shop to land in Manila. This and Paul (click) makes the baking scene in Manila ... awesome!

Located in Powerplant, the first shop of EK opened here with another one in Greenhills with a target date of March or April.

Simple and direct to the point. Get in and get out... its as if you're shy with the first meet up...

Among all the stuff that they serve.. their best sellers would be the croissant... the chocolate croissant to be exact..

and of course, I got a lot.. from almond to plain... too. Remind me to keep it away from my dad because he ate it all.. waaaaa :( :( :( Heart Broken!!!!!